LAMP seniors recognized in national science competition

LAMP seniors Ruchir Rastogi and Venkata Macha were recently named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search for their research in the biomedical field.(Photo: By Drew Taylor/Montgomery Advertiser)Buy Photo

Out of 1,800 across the country, two students at Loveless Academic Magnet Program were selected as semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search.

LAMP seniors Venkata Macha and Ruchir Rastogi were two of nearly 400 students who were listed as semifinalists in the competition, an annual science research competition for high school seniors that takes place in Washington, D.C. Although they were not selected as one of the 40 finalists for the final competition in March, Macha and Rastogi will each receive $1,000, with an additional $1,000 going to their school.

“It felt pretty great, especially to know that having done research, they have recognized us,” Macha said on being named a semifinalist.

Macha said that back in November, he submitted his name for consideration, which consisted of writing a 20-page essay on research he had done in a particular field and why they felt they would be a good scientist. The title of Macha’s research paper was “A Novel Bioelectronic Chip for Noninvasive, Versatile Cancer Detection,” which deals with the field and how the chips can be used as diagnostic tests for different types of cancer. The research was done during the summer while he studied at Harvard University.

“There isn’t much research in that field and people are still looking at it, so I think it was a good thing to look at,” Macha said.

Rastogi’s paper was titled “Modulation of Macrophage Phenotype Using Nanoparticle-delivered Gene Therapy for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases,” which delved into research he conducted at MIT during the summer. The research dealth with application for gene therapy to be used in the treatment of chronic inflammation.

“People haven’t investigated into gene therapy much because it’s a really new thing that has come around in the last 10 years, so to be able research on such a cutting-edge thing is really neat to be able to do as a high school student,” Rastogi said.

Rastogi said being able to use textbook knowledge in real-world applications was exciting.

“It’s definitely a big shift from seeing ‘Here’s what cells are’ and another thing to see ‘Here’s how I can manipulate the cells and figure out the interesting genomic information within them,’” Rastogi said. “It’s a big transition, but I think it’s doable for anyone who’s interested in the subject.”

Rastogi said the recognition from Intel would go a long way toward his education and career goals.

“If you say you are an Intel semifinalist, professors around the nation will know what that means and realize what caliber of a student you are,” he said.

Both Macha and Rastogi agreed that their education at LAMP provided them with the tools necessary to do their research.

“I think what’s great about the LAMP program is they have the curriculum, which is shared across many schools, but also you have teachers that motivate you to try different things and having that motivation helps you succeed in different ideas,” Macha said. “That motivation, mostly, is what convinced me to do this research.”

“At LAMP, all of our tests are designed to make you think critically,” Rastogi said. “It’s very application-oriented in terms of if I want to do this and what possible steps could I take.”

Macha and Rastogi are valedictorians of their class. Although neither student has decided where they will go to school next year, they have both applied to schools as varied as Harvard, Yale University, Stanford University, Rice University, Emory University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Macha and Rastogi are the first LAMP students in 30 years to be semifinalists in the competition.